


An Unexpected Setback

by ericsonclan



Series: Fantasy Hijinks AU [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons References, F/M, Halflings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: The halflings and Brody head out to start their adventure together only to come across something unexpected: another halfling and a human child.
Relationships: Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Fantasy Hijinks AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797862
Kudos: 5





	An Unexpected Setback

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

The next day they headed out of the tavern with full bellies and excited chatter, all dreaming of what they would accomplish. Brody had acclimated quite nicely to life with three halflings, maintaining a languid stroll as her three new friends bustled down the street. They weren’t sure exactly what the right next move was, but had decided together that they should start by going to the town square to see if they could find any postings or hear any news of upcoming quests. Thus they found themselves in the busiest part of the market when Louis happened to bump into a stranger.

“Oh, my apologies,” he offered routinely before letting out a surprised gasp at seeing he had collided with a halfling girl.

She smiled at him prettily, batting her eyes before continuing on her way.

“W-wait!” Louis exclaimed before being dragged along by Violet. “Vi, that was another halfling! Out here, in the world! We should have befriended her!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Violet muttered. “She was clearly busy and so are we. C’mon, I’m itching to find our first quest!”

Once they’d reached the town square, they made their way over to the nearest bulletin board, reading as far up as they could before relying on Brody to tell them what the quests on the top of the board said. Many of them seemed far above their level of experience, but there was one quest to clear a manor of pesky squirrels that seemed like a safe enough start.

“Not sure how much help I’ll be,” Brody murmured, looking down at the ground. “I don’t have any fighting experience or even any sort of sword,”

Louis patted her wrist reassuringly. “No worries! It’s not like we have to kill the squirrels, just clear them out! Tell you what, we’ll buy you a net. Then you can catch the squirrels while we scare them your way. Lemme just get some coins out, then we’ll find a good net and-” He froze, feeling around in his pack with a silent panic. He looked inside, having no better luck as he continued to rummage. “I-I’ve been robbed!” he squeaked in disbelief.

“You sure you didn’t just drop your coin purse or forget it at the inn?” Violet asked.

“No, it was just here! I could feel it weighing me down. I just got distracted reading the quests ‘cause I was so excited and didn’t realize till now!” He swung around wildly, searching the surrounding area. Suddenly his eyes lighted on the halfling girl. “Hey, maybe she can help! I bet she has more experience in this town then we do!”

Omar shrugged. “Worth a shot,”

They scampered over to her. The girl seemed shocked as they eagerly surrounded her, but kept an even stance, eyeing each of them in turn.

“Name’s Louis!” Louis thrust his hand forward in greeting.

She stared at it without moving.

Louis awkwardly pocketed his hand. “We were wondering if as a fellow halfling you’d be willing to help us. I seem to have misplaced my coin purse. I’m sure you’d be able to help us lickety split, right? Are you from around these parts?”

The girl shook her head. Her expression began to warm to them. “Just passing through. I’d be happy to help you though. Where did you last see it?”

Louis eagerly guided her back to the quest board where he’d realized the coin pure was missing, the others trailing behind the pair as they began their search. Louis quickly found himself quite taken with the girl. Her curly hair fell in ringlets around her face, framing it beautifully. Her golden eyes crinkled in amusement at each phrase he spoke, and her nose wrinkled playfully as well. She might just be the prettiest halfling girl he’d ever laid eyes on. He was about to ask her if she had any interest in joining their group in their adventures as well when Violet swore angrily behind him.

“My pouch is missing too! This is worse than we thought!”

Brody emptied her pockets worriedly. “Nothing of mine is missing, but then again I don’t think thieves would be very interested in loose buttons and a spool of thread,”

The halfling girl shook her head in annoyance. “Honestly, people in towns are the worst! No respect for private property, just taking whatever they please!”

“It really is awful!” Louis assented, nodding emphatically. “Thievery like this never happened back home. Halflings are too pure of heart to even consider stealing. We work hard for our breakfasts each and every day!”

“Not sure you’ve ever worked hard a day in your life,” Violet challenged. “But that’s beside the point. We have to find our money or none of us will eat!”

With that threat looming over their heads, the group continued their search in earnest, examining every nook and cranny and asking each stranger they came across if they’d seen anything. No luck. After a good few hours of searching they collapsed in exhaustion by the town well, taking off their packs and breathing heavily as they tried to sort themselves out.

Violet kicked the side of the well in anger. “Nothing! We’ve searched for hours and we’ve gotten nowhere! How could this have happened?”

“Don’t give up, Vi!” Louis said encouragingly, offering her a turn drinking from the cup they’d rustled up to fetch some of the water. “Worst comes to worst, we sell a few things from our packs to get Brody that net, then we head off on our squirrel herding quest. It’ll be a blast!”

Suddenly they heard a loud slap and a distressed cry. Omar leapt up from where he’d been sitting, eyes wild. “He tried to steal my cheese!” he shouted, pointing to the culprit.

A young boy, barely over 5, crouched beside the well, panicked. The belt he wore round his waist held three coin purses. It was all their money! He was the thief!

“A.J., run!” the halfling girl suddenly cried. She leapt forward, grabbing all three of their packs in a surprising show of strength before booking it out of the square.

“Stop, thief! Stop!” the halflings cried, chasing her as quickly as they could. Brody quickly outpaced them, almost catching up to the halfling girl until she took a sudden sharp turn, disappearing into an alleyway. They continued their chase, in desperate pursuit of her and the boy who’d rejoined her, but to no avail. They found themselves trapped at a dead end, watching helplessly as she and the child scaled the wall effortlessly.

“How could you?” Louis cried desperately. “Betraying your own kind? Turning against good, honest halfling folk for your own gain? You dishonor the halfling name!”

The girl turned around at those words, glaring down at them as her child companion towered behind her, his afro making her look tiny in comparison, but doing nothing to diminish her ferocity. “How dare I? I dare because halflings never did a thing for me! You’ll be fine without all your coin and fancy snacks. Go on back to your little town and let this be a lesson that fools like you have no place in the real world!” With that she turned, leaping down from the roof and onto the next building. Soon both thieves were gone and the four adventurers were left standing aimlessly in a deserted alleyway, penniless and bewildered.

Was their adventure over before it had even truly began?


End file.
